The present invention pertains to devices for splitting up round timber in general. More particularly, the invention pertains to a device for severing round timber by means of a circular saw blade and of the type having a transversal feeding unit for transporting round timber pieces to the saw.
The devices for severing round timber of the type under discussion normally include a number of conveying chains equipped with carriers transporting round timber pieces from the feeding end of the device toward its discharge end. In the devices of the foregoing type a continuous and uninterrupted advancement of the round timber to the saw has been provided in which the round timber has been separated into sections by the circular saw. The aforementioned carriers usually guide individual round timber pieces towards the rotating circular saw and the direction of rotation of the saw is normally selected such that the round timber is pressed downwardly onto the conveying chains upon the engagement of the timber with the circular saw and is maintained in such a position while the conveying chains move further with respect to the saw and the severing operation is performed.
During the further movement of the conveying chains, after a round timber piece has been cut off into two sections, the surfaces of cut of those sections continue to move along the blade of the circular saw. The direction of the circular movement of the saw is, at the position at which the round timber leaves the circle area of the saw, changed from downward to the upward one. When the surfaces of cut of the cut timber sections in this area come into contact with the teeth of the saw blade, the cut section can slip off the chain which can lead to any kind of emergency, or damage to the machine or to the round timber being processed. Holding arrangements, which have been employed to hold the round timber in the region of the exit of the saw circle, unfavorably affect the transport of the round timber for further processing, particularly the holding arrangements which must be adjusted for various thicknesses of the round timber. Further difficulties have been encountered when relatively high and impact-like loads occured in the severing process, for example when, after having been initially in contact with the saw in the aforementioned exit area thereof, the round timber had to be lifted and then twisted and clamped.